Rural communities in the central midwest have high proportions of older people in their populations. In the state of Kansas in most rural comunities over 20% of the population is sixty-five or older, and in some communities it is as high as 30%. The rural aged tend to be one of the most deprived of all groups of older people, both in terms of finances and available services. A major cause is the out-migration of young adults from rural communities to urban areas where more work opportunities are availabe. This out-migration has left a gap in both informal services to the aged usually provided by children and formal services provided by communities. Rural communities lack the economic resources to adequately provide for their aged members. One approach suggested for eliminating rural poverty as a general problem through industrializing rural communities may have the unintended effect of further improverishing the aged segment of the population by inflating the local economy. Some rural communities which have retained some of the characteristics of a traditional society seem better able to cope with the loss of young adults and maintain adequate service provision to the aged. This study will examine changes in population composition for the state of Kansas from 1860-1970 to determine the effects of the out-migration of the young on the relative economic status of the aged. Then four rural communities which are similar in size but vary in terms of degree of local industrialization and degree of religious and ethnic homogeneity will be compared in terms of formal and informal service provision to the aged and economic status of the aged. Two methods of data collection will be used. Field research will be done to systematically examine services to the aged provided by each community. A random sample of rural aged in community will be interviewed to assess what needs they have and how well these needs are met by the available services.